Course Syllabus
Welcome to BUS614: International Finance
Specific information about this course and its requirements can be found below. For more general information about taking Saylor Academy courses, including information about Community and Academic Codes of Conduct, please read the Student Handbook.
Course Description
Study the financial interactions of countries by examining the financial system and markets from an international and global perspective by looking at money and capital markets, the role of regulation and financial intermediaries, foreign exchange markets and exchange rate determinations, the Eurozone, and the role of emerging economies in the global financial environment.
Course Introduction
During the last several decades, financial markets have led the globalization process as businesses and organizations around the world have found themselves increasingly operating and competing on an international scale. This course outlines the genesis and nature of financial dynamics primarily from an international perspective. The learning outcomes of this course will allow you to operate with confidence in global financial markets from several different perspectives. Specifically, this material can benefit individuals interested in the financial management of multinational organizations or who intend to operate in financial services, both the buy-side and sell-side.
This course includes the following units:
- Unit 1: Introduction to Financial Markets
- Unit 2: Banking
- Unit 3: Money and Bond Markets
- Unit 4: Equity Markets
- Unit 5: Hedge Funds and Private Equity
- Unit 6: Financial Crises
- Unit 7: The Foreign Exchange Market
- Unit 8: Economic and Monetary Union in Europe
- Unit 9: Derivative Products
- Unit 10: The Future of Global Markets
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- describe the organizational structure of financial markets and institutions;
- analyze the role that the structure and determination of interest rates play in capital markets;
- compare and analyze different markets, including money markets, bond markets, and equity markets;
- compare the functioning of equity markets with other markets and assess their benefit in allocating resources;
- analyze the importance of institutional investors in today's financial markets and the different investment strategies they may opt for;
- describe the genesis of financial crises and their various phases;
- describe how foreign exchange markets work and calculate different types of exchange rates;
- review and evaluate the role that the Eurozone has in today's global markets;
- compare derivative products and their use for hedging and insuring; and
- identify trends in international markets.
Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.
Course Materials
This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.
All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course by clicking on Resources in the navigation bar.
Evaluation and Minimum Passing Score
Only the final exam is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn a grade of 70% or higher on the final exam. Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. If you do not pass the exam on your first try, you may take it again as many times as you want, with a 7-day waiting period between each attempt. Once you have successfully passed the final exam, you will be awarded a free Course Completion Certificate.
There are also end-of-unit assessments in this course. These are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take these as many times as you want until you understand the concepts and material covered. You can see all of these assessments by clicking on Quizzes in the course's navigation bar.
Tips for Success
BUS614: International Finance is a self-paced course, which means that you can decide when you will start and when you will complete the course. There is no instructor or an assigned schedule to follow. We estimate that the "average" student will take 27 hours to complete this course. We recommend that you work through the course at a comfortable pace that allows you to make regular progress. It's also a good idea to schedule your study time in advance and try to stick to that schedule as best as you can.
Learning new material can be challenging, so we've compiled a few study strategies to help you succeed:
- Take notes on the various terms, practices, and theories that you come across. This can help you put each concept into context and will create a refresher that you can use as you study later on.
- As you work through the materials, take some time to test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned is important for your long-term memory and will make you more likely to retain information over time.
Technical Requirements
This course is delivered entirely online. You will be required to have access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and have consistent access to the internet to either view or download the necessary course resources and attempt any auto-graded course assessments and the final exam.
- To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, you will need to log in to your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you do not already have an account, you may create one for free here. Although you can access the course materials without logging in to your account, you should log in to maximize your course experience. For example, you cannot take assessments or track your progress unless you are logged in.
For additional guidance, check out Saylor Academy's FAQ.
Fees
This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. Everything linked in the course, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, is available for no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and course completion certificate.